I am just going to run low boost. . . yea right!, A warning for anyone who wants to boost a 5sfe Options

[HardHead93]

This is a cautionary tale to anyone who thinks they are going to slap a turbo on a high mileage engine and run low boost. DON’T DO IT! In December of 2014 despite all the posts that say, don’t boost your engine unless it is low mileage or rebuilt, I went for it. Is the 5sfe a great engine to boost, yes, but do it right. This post will tell the LONG, expensive, frustrating story to creating my 5sfte. The below write up is what happened.

Background
It has been a long road for this 5sfte build. Here is the engine I started with:


I saw what Supershannon77 did with an Ebay T3/4 turbo for her 6th gen Celica 5sfte and I tried to duplicate it (with a few upgrades). I bought an Ebay kit with the idea that I would need to modify or replace some of the parts that came in it but the bottom line was it would give me a turbo, intercooler, exhaust manifold, downpipe, and some miscellaneous needed parts.

As I started the build I found the kit seriously lacking. The big one was the downpipe was for a CT26 turbo not a T3/4 so I had to order one. There was no oil return line and there was not enough intercooler piping. It took 3 months to resolve all the issues with the advertised “bolt-on” kit (there is no such thing as bolt on from Ebay), I ended up with the following build:


8 psi boost
T3/T04E Turbo
Turbosmart Wastegate
2.5 inch full exhaust
Magnaflow Muffler and Catalytic Converter
AEM FIC Piggyback
SSQV Blow Off Valve
460cc RX-7 Injectors
FMIC
Walpro 255 Fuel Pump
3sgte 3 Bar MAP Sensor
Custom downpipe from Demon Motorsports
Ebay tubular exhaust manifold

I started noticing when I would pop the hood after a drive that there was an extreme amount of heat coming out of the engine bay. I also saw that the under hood insulation was burning away. After doing some digging, I found that the tubular manifold I was using was giving off too much heat instead of shooting it down to the exhaust. I needed a 3sgte manifold. I went to the Toyota dealership and they told me that all their warehouses are out of stock and that the best bet was to find a used one. That led to one option, Ebay. After about a week of missing out on bids I finally scored a 3sgte manifold. It arrived and I was so excited, I ceramic coated it and put it on and the car was back!


Then another problem reared its head, the clutch started slipping. I bought a SPEC stage 2 clutch, got it installed and the car ran like a champ. In the process of tuning the car, I sprung a fuel leak that lead to an engine fire. I think it the Walpro fuel pump put too much pressure on the original lines coming from the fuel filter and something popped.




Now here I am, where I should have started. In hindsight I should have rebuilt the engine before going down the turbo route. My plan was to fix the fire damage and rebuild the engine to a 14-15 psi boost-able monster. My goal is 280-300 horsepower. Based on what I saw in Pressure2’s build, I can use stock pistons and rods but I will need a metal head gasket. I planned to swap the California cylinder head with a Federal head so the fuel injectors fit perfectly.

[HardHead93]

So after a lot of cussing, kicking, and screaming, I decided to get back to work on fixing this car. I pulled the motor and broke it all the way down to determine what failed.
Mostly apart:

Cylinder head looks pretty worn and I am not liking all that black on the intake cam:

The bare 3s block:

All the 3sgte parts:

Engine bay:


What I found was rod knock on cylinder #1. The rod was black from the excessive heat. I inspected all the rods and it looked as if the previous owner of the car either did not take care of the engine or there was more than 60K mile on the motor. When I opened up my 130K mile 5sfe, the bearings did not look as worn as these ones. Oh well, time to move on.

I decided to get another 3sgte instead of rebuilding the other one. I just got it in today and hopefully this time it will go well. Here is the 3s on the truck once I got home from the warehouse:

Now on the ground next to the 3s block:

Another shot of the 2nd 3sgte:


I will swap over parts that I replaced from the other 3sgte. Then replace the oil pump and rear main seal and drop the engine back in. My goal is to have this all done by the end of the 3 day weekend. (Deep breath) Time to get to work!

This post has been edited by HardHead93: Jan 13, 2017 - 8:32 PM